George Koshil was hustling to
catch his Pickering-bound GO train on Sept. 7 when everything
turned black.

Just as the 5:10 p.m. train pulled in to Union Station, Koshil,
who had been scheduled for coronary artery bypass surgery in
late October, collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on Platform
12.

The 60-year-old Scotiabank technology manager was lucky GO
customer service ambassador Derek Thompson was in the vicinity.

“A woman came running up from the end of the platform, yelling
that a man had collapsed,” Thompson said. “He was pale and
turning blue with about one breath a minute.”

After about four minutes Koshil stopped breathing, so Thompson,
26, fastened a portable automated external defibrillator to
Koshil’s chest and hit the shock button. He then performed 10
seconds of CPR before Koshil coughed and started breathing.

Paramedics arrived soon after and rushed Koshil to St. Michael’s
Hospital. His surgery was bumped up to Sept. 12.

“I knew I was overexerting myself,” said Koshil, now recovering
at his Scarborough home. “I should have let the train go and
caught a later one.”

GO customer service reps receive first aid and CPR training and
are instructed to bring an automated defibrillator to any
emergency.

Koshil and Thompson have yet to meet. Thompson, who lives in
Pickering, has reached out to the family after a thank you
message was published in t.o.night’s “Shout Out” section last
weekend. He was recently awarded a certificate of recognition by
GO Transit.

“I couldn’t imagine my family members going through this without
anyone around them,” said Thompson, who had never used CPR, let
alone an automated defibrillator. “I was trying to stay calm and
confident and do the best I could.”

Thompson wasn’t the only Good Samaritan at the scene.

Koshil had just purchased a 10-ride ticket and it was still in
his hand when he fell unconscious. The stranger who retrieved
the ticket saw the “Shout Out” and emailed in, explaining she
had slipped it into Koshil’s briefcase.

“I checked last Friday and it was there,” Koshil said. “Not only
is there that feeling that people are willing to help, but there
are honest people out there who won’t take advantage of a
situation.”

GO Transit has about 100 automated defibrillators scattered
across its rail network. According to the Toronto Safe City
program, the devices have been used 16 times in the GTA since
September 2010, saving the lives of nine people.